There’s no single right answer to how much RAM a V Rising server needs, because the game’s memory footprint is unusually dynamic. A 10-player server where everyone builds sprawling multi-wing castles can use more RAM than a 20-player server with modest bases and sensible limits. Player count is just one variable.
This guide breaks down what actually drives memory usage, maps out practical RAM tiers by use case, and calls out the specific settings and scenarios that eat RAM faster than most guides acknowledge.
What Actually Drives RAM Usage
Most “how much RAM do I need” guides stop at player count. For V Rising, that gives you an incomplete picture. The game continuously simulates a number of things that scale with your server’s configuration, not just how many people are logged in at any given moment.
Castle count and size is the biggest factor most people miss. V Rising keeps all castle territories in memory as long as the world is running - including ones belonging to players who are offline. A server that’s been running for a few weeks with 15 active players and a CastleLimit of 3 is simulating up to 45 castle territories at once, regardless of who’s currently playing. Each of those has crafting stations, servants, automation systems, and stored items to track.
Servant and item density compounds on top of that. Large castles with fully staffed servant rosters and stocked crafting queues hold more state per territory than a fresh starter base.
Mods add their own baseline overhead. BepInEx, the framework V Rising uses for all third-party mods, requires at least 8GB RAM just to initialize on first boot. That’s a hard floor, not a recommendation - if the server doesn’t have it, BepInEx fails to load entirely.
Server uptime is the one people notice after the fact. V Rising’s memory usage tends to grow gradually the longer the server runs without a restart. This isn’t a crash-level issue, but it means a server that performed fine at launch can feel sluggish after a week of continuous uptime. Scheduling a daily restart during off-hours is cheap insurance.
RAM Tiers by Use Case
These ranges are based on actual server behavior, not just minimum specs from documentation. Use them as a starting point - your specific castle limits, mod list, and player behavior will determine where you land within a range.
| RAM | Recommended For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4GB | 1-8 players, vanilla, casual PvE | Works, but headroom is tight. Fine for a small friend group that won’t run the server 24/7. |
| 6GB | 1-10 players, vanilla | Comfortable buffer for a private server with moderate castle building. Most small groups land here. |
| 8GB | Up to ~20 players, or any modded server | Required minimum if you’re running BepInEx. Also the right floor for active PvP groups. |
| 10-12GB | 20-30 players, or modded with multiple plugins | Handles a meaningful mod list alongside regular player activity and castle density. |
| 14GB+ | 30+ players, community servers, active raid nights | Large public servers with high castle limits and frequent raid events will push into this range. |
At $1.99/GB, a 6GB V Rising server from WinterNode comes to $11.94/month, and an 8GB plan runs $15.92/month. Given that 8GB is the minimum for mods, it’s usually the better starting point if there’s any chance you’ll want to mod later.
Sizing by active players, not slot count
A 40-slot server that typically has 8 people online behaves very differently from one that fills up on raid nights. Size for your realistic peak, not the theoretical maximum.
Castles Are the Variable Nobody Mentions
The CastleLimit setting in your ServerGameSettings.json is probably the most underappreciated RAM lever on a V Rising server. The default allows multiple castles per player, which sounds reasonable for a small group but multiplies fast at scale.
With 20 players and CastleLimit set to 3, the server is potentially simulating 60 active castle territories. Even if half those players haven’t logged in since last week, their castles are still loaded. We see this come up in support tickets fairly often: a server that looks fine on paper - reasonable player count, decent RAM allocation - is quietly dragging because it has 25 abandoned castles that haven’t decayed yet.
The CastleDecayRateModifier setting is your relief valve here. Raising it above 1.0 means inactive castles decay faster and clear out of memory sooner. On community servers or anywhere you expect player churn, bumping this is as much a performance setting as a gameplay one.
High castle limits need more RAM
If you’re planning to run CastleLimit at 3 or higher, or if you’re hosting a building-focused community, budget at least one RAM tier higher than the player count alone would suggest.
Mods and BepInEx
V Rising doesn’t use Steam Workshop. Mods are distributed through Thunderstore and NexusMods and installed via BepInEx, a plugin framework that sits between the game server and the mods themselves.
The 8GB initialization requirement for BepInEx is a real hard limit. If the server doesn’t have enough RAM when BepInEx first boots, the framework fails silently or throws errors, and none of your mods will load. It’s one of the more confusing failure modes to debug if you don’t know it’s coming.
Beyond the BepInEx floor, each mod plugin adds its own overhead. A server running 2-3 light quality-of-life mods on 8GB is fine. A heavily modded server with content-heavy plugins, custom systems, or additional entity types needs more breathing room - 10GB is a safer floor for that kind of setup.
One thing worth knowing: most V Rising mods need to be installed on both the server and each player’s client. It’s not like server-side-only mods on some other games. Factor in the coordination overhead if you’re running a group that doesn’t stay synced on updates.
Signs Your Server Is Running Low on RAM
These are the symptoms that typically point to a RAM problem specifically, as opposed to CPU load or network issues.
Lag spikes that happen at regular intervals, exactly in line with your autosave frequency, usually mean the server is struggling to write the save while also managing its current memory load. Bumping AutoSaveInterval from the default 120 seconds to 300 or higher reduces how often this happens. If that doesn’t help, the underlying issue is probably insufficient RAM rather than save frequency.
Players getting dropped with “Connection Lost” during active play or raid events - especially when ping looks normal before the disconnect - often indicates the server is hitting its memory ceiling during the busiest moments. A quiet server that drops players during raid hours is a classic pattern.
Performance that gradually gets worse over the course of a week, then snaps back after a restart, points to memory creep from long uptime. Scheduling a daily restart during off-peak hours is the fix, not a larger allocation - though both can help.
All WinterNode game servers run at $1.99/GB with no CPU throttling, unmetered bandwidth, and included DDoS protection. If you’re not sure what size to start with, most vanilla friend-group servers are happy at 6GB. If you’re planning to run mods, start at 8GB.
Not sure what settings to use once you’re up and running? Our support team handles V Rising configuration questions through the ticket system and on Discord. Human responses, no bots.
Frequently Asked Questions
4GB covers a private server for 1-8 players with no mods. 6-8GB is the practical sweet spot for most friend groups. Modded servers using BepInEx need at least 8GB. Large community servers with 20+ active players and multiple castles should budget 10-12GB or more.
Yes. BepInEx, the mod framework V Rising uses, requires at least 8GB RAM to initialize. Each additional mod adds overhead on top of that.
Yes, significantly. V Rising simulates all castles on the map, including ones belonging to offline players. High castle limits and large builds are one of the biggest RAM drivers on a V Rising server.